Safe Haven
by geekly-chic23
Summary: Silence incases us as my father turns on to an abandoned road that is all too familiar. I recognize the iron rod in the corner with dry red spots on it as the car stops. My father climbs out and comes around to my door. I know what is about to happen so I do not struggle when he pulls me out by my hair.
1. Prologue

_A.N. This is my first attempt at a fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it! Oh and when she is speaking Italian, Alisabith is saying that she is sorry for speaking the wrong language and what not._

_**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its character but I do own the right s to Chava Alisabith Miller.**_

Safe Haven Prologue

"Hola. Mi nombre es Alisabith. Yo seré su traductor para esta semana," I introduce myself to the dignitary as their translator for this week. The hair on my arms stands up as my father steps up behind me.

'Crap. Wrong language.' I think about my mistake as my adoptive father presses his thumb into the pressure point in my back. I tighten my grip on Mulan's, my husky, leash. Mulan sensed my discomfort and rubbed my leg with her head. She learned long ago that she should not try to protect me when I did not want her to. I try soo hard not to wince as he digs even deeper into my lower back.

"Sono molto spiacente, signore. Il mio nome e Alisabith e io saro il vostro traduttore per questa settimana. Prometto che non ci saranno piu errori." I quickly change my mindset from Spanish to Italian. Pressure from my back is slowly released after a swift quick jab. We all walk out of the airport and to the v.i.p. parking deck where our car and the dignitary's car is. As Mulan and I hop into our car that we keep in the U.S.A., I think about the abuse that is sure to come, probably in the next few minutes. My parents climb into the car, buckle up, and drive away from the D.C. airport.

Silence incases us as my father turns on to an abandoned road that is all too familiar. I recognize the iron rod in the corner with dry red spots on it as the car stops. My father climbs out and comes around to my door. I know what is about to happen so I do not struggle when he pulls me out by my hair.

I drop to the ground when the first blow comes. I hear the crack of bones as blow after blow comes by that bloody pipe. I wait and wait for it to stop. Finally, I feel someone put the pipe down and roughly throw me over their shoulder. Hearing the trunk open, I am thrown in. Mulan, who is already in the back, lays lightly on top of me and growls at my father. A door closes and I am surrounded in sudden darkness. Mulan licks my side. A gnash is apparent from my rib cage to the top of my hip bone.

I feel something poking me in the neck. Slowly reaching up, I pull a picture of my biological mother out of my inner coat pocket. A lone tear slides down my face as I start to lose consciousness. I feel myself involuntarily pulling restrains across my body and buckling myself in, as I have done many times before. As I lose myself in beckoning darkness, I hear a gunshot ring out. A flipping sensation and a knock on the head sends me into a delirious nightmare.


	2. Chapter 1

Safe Haven: Chapter 1

"This reminds me of the movie _Inception__._ You know. Where the car flips over and it lands up right," Tony calls from the bottom of the small hill where a dark gray BMW lays. The team was at Quantico investigating a car crash that might have been murder. Ziva pops up from the spot where she is taking photos.

"What is _Inception_?" Ziva questions as McGee and Gibbs clobber down the hill.

Tony gasps in mock distress and a horrid look appears on his face.

"You don't know what Inception is? I am appalled," Tony exclaims. "Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Cobb who goes into people's dreams and convinces them to do things that he wants them to do."

"I do not get the point," Ziva counters.

As Tony starts to argue, Gibbs slaps him on the back of the head. Letting out a wince, Tony gets back to work.

"On it boss."

"Whacha got?" Gibbs asks, looking back at Tony.

"Well, from what is here, we know that the driver was shot in the head. But, I see that the angle of this bullet is unique to say the least. It comes from the top left corner making a forty-five degree angle from the center of the window." Ziva states as a whine comes from the trunk, interrupting her.

The team of four whipped out their guns. Gibbs motioned for McGee to pop the trunk as Tony and Ziva edged up to it. They slowly lifted up the door, revealing a chocolate brown and snow white husky marked with the letter 'M' on its forehead and a teenage girl with blood gushing from her temple and a picture death-gripped in her hands. After the initial shock passes, Gibbs whips out his cell phone and dials 911 while McGee runs to find Ducky. Tony and Ziva work to remove the makeshift seat belts wrapped around the dog and girl. Lifting the husky off the girl, Tony shouts out to Palmer who had just arrived.

"Palmer, get over here! You're good with dogs right?"

Carrying the girl out of the trunk, Ziva runs to the road. After she sets the girl down on the ground, she starts to bandage up the worst of the cuts and aids Ducky with the stitching. When that was done, the paramedics arrive and load the girl up into the ambulance. Shouting came from the truck when they can't get the picture away from her grasp. As she falls into a coma, Tony hops into the ambulance to see what hospital they are going to and slowly wiggles the photo from her grasp.

"Bethesda, sir," one of the paramedics replied.

"Thanks."

Tony jumps out and looks down at the picture. His eyes grow wide as he slowly brings his eyes up to look at Ziva. Moving his eyes between the picture and a bloody Ziva, he walks over to her and hesitantly hands her the picture.

One look at the picture is all it takes. Almost in slow motion, Ziva faints and falls to the ground. At the last minute, Tony puts out his hands and grabs her by the waist to keep her from hitting the pavement. The picture floats to a stop in front of Gibbs.

It is a picture of Ziva when she was a teenager. She was in a hospital bed, holding a newborn baby girl.


	3. Chapter 2

_A.N. I hope you guys like this next chapter! I just want to say though that the team might be OOC but I don't know how to do this chapter any other way. :-/_

_**Disclaimer: Do not own NCIS.**_

Safe Haven: Chapter 2

_Tony's POV_

Watching the love of my life falling to the ground put me more into a panic than you might think. Yeah. You heard me right. I just said love of my life. Anthony DiNozzo, the Italian Playboy, has finally, FINALLY, realized that I love Ziva David. And see her falling down, reacting to that picture so fast, scared me to no end.

Holding her in my arms, I slowly pick her up bridal style and carry her over to the Charger. I felt Gibbs following behind me and Zi. When we go to the Charger, he came around me and opened the passenger side door. Ziva stirred and started to wake up when I set her down on the seat. Kneeling beside the door so that I would be even with her, I saw her eyes start to open up. When they did, she looked at me with a questioning look on her face and then suddenly her eyes lit up with recognition and tears. Then, she started to go wild.

"Where is she? Where is my Ava?" Ziva started to push me out of the way and trying to get up. I moved in front of her a bit as Gibbs shifted right behind me, not giving her a way out. She started trying to shove me out of the way, throwing weak punches into my arms and chest. Seeing tears running down her face, I grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to me. Weak blow after blow hit my chest. Turning to Gibbs, I mouthed the word water with a questioning look on my face. Gibbs nodded his head and turned to go get a bottle out of the truck. I felt the blows turn into trembling and Ziva's breathing grow faster.

"No. I want my baby. I need my baby girl back, Tony. I need her back."

"Shh. It's okay, Zi. We are going to go get her. You gotta calm down though." I unwrapped one of my arms and lifted her chin up. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks had large tear tracks running down them.

"We will get her back to you, Zi. Okay?"

She nodded her head and snuggled against me again with silent sobs. I turned slightly to see Gibbs coming back out of the corner of my eye. When he reached me, he leaned down next to my ear and handed me the water bottle and the car keys.

"Take her to the hospital. When you get there, call Abby. Tell her to go to Ziva's house and get her some clothes, her toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and so on. If she asks what happened, tell her to call me. After that, you go back to Ziver and you stay with her. Do not let her be alone. Got it?"

"Got it boss." Gibbs turned away then and walked down to where McGee, Palmer, and Ducky are standing with worried looks on their faces. Turning my attention back to Ziva, I unscrew the cap and hand it to her.

"Here. Drink this. We are going to the hospital. It's all going to be okay."

She slowly lifts her head up as I pull my arms away and stand up. Shutting her door, I walk around the car shell-shocked. I have never seen my Ziva this way. Sure, I saw her cry when Mike Franks died and once when Gibbs was gone but that time we weren't really in our right minds, if you're picking up what I'm putting down. When I got in the car, I looked over at Zi once more. Her hands covered her face as her shoulders shook violently. After I started the car, I put my hand on her shoulder and drove away.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Don't own.**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Three**

_Ziva's POV_

I sit there wondering. Questions fly through my head. How did she get here? Where has she been? What happened to her? What is she like? And most importantly, why was she in the TRUNK? And why was there seatbelt things around her?

I feel Tony squeeze my shoulder. Pulling my head away from my hands, I peer up at him with watering eyes. He looks at me with a sad smile and pulls me into a hug. I realize that the car has stopped in front of Bethesda. Suddenly, I feel tears running down my face. You shouldn't have to meet your daughter like this. Even though I was told she was dead a little while after she was taken from me. I just got my baby back and now she might be taken away from me.

"It's not fair, Tony. It's n-not f-fair." I sob into his chest. His arms pull me into him and whispered into my ear.

"I know, Ziv. I know. It'll be okay." Tony and I are sitting there for a while when he suddenly pulls away from me. He flashes me an encouraging smile that makes him look more handsome than he already is.

'Stop it, Ziva! Your daughter is in the hospital and you are thinking about your love for Tony!' I scold myself for thinking about Tony at a time like this.

"Zi?"

I look up into Tony's emerald eyes.

"Let's go in." I start to get out of the car when it dawned on me.

"Tony, I don't even know her full name or if her parents even kept the name Chava."

I panic and start mumbling. I bring my nails up to my mouth and start chewing on them.

'How could I not even know my own daughter's name? What kind of mother does that? What kind of mother am I?' I didn't realize that I said that all out loud until Tony spoke up.

"Ziva. It's not your fault you don't know her name. Don't beat yourself up. And McGee texted me a little bit ago. Her name is Chava Alisabith Miller."

Tony unbuckles his seatbelt, opens the door, and gets out. I am trying to calm myself as he walks around to my side of the car. I also unbuckle my seatbelt as he opens my door and helps me climb out. When I get out, I peer up at the towering hospital. I realize that my baby girl is in there fighting for her life and a surge of energy rushes into me. I run into the front door and to the elevator while I hear Tony running behind me, apparently talking to someone on the phone. I jab the button a few times wishing that the cart would get here faster.

"Yes, Ziva is fine. Abs, I will explain later. Just do what I told you to, okay?" Tony closes his phone as the doors finally open to the elevator. We rush inside and push the second floor button. When the doors open, we sprint to the main receptionist's desk is. We find a nurse, who is looking over some files, sitting there at the desk.

"Progress of Chava Alisabith Miller," Tony says to the nurse. She gets a slight scowl on her face and doesn't look up from her paperwork.

"She is still in surgery. When she is out, she will be put in her regular room. But, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, if I hear one squeak of pain from her again, you will be removed from this establishment by security and federal agents. You will also be charged for child abuse and for assaulting a hospital worker because of the last time you were here. And I don't want to hear that 'I have diplomatic immunity' crap that you always give me. I am not afraid of you anymore."

Tears well up in my eyes when I hear her rant. Child abuse, pain, and regular room swirl around my head. Tony pulls me into a hug as I sob into his chest. When I hear rustling papers, I look back up at the nurse. She puts her papers down and looks up at up with a steely gaze with her mouth open. She closes her mouth when she sees us.

"Oh. You aren't Mr. and Mrs. Miller."

_A.N. Okay, so Ziva is OOC but what can you do? She just learned that her daughter's alive and has been abused. For the next few chapters, Ziva will probably be OOC. Sorry guys. :-/ If you want to, reviews are always welcome! Just please don't pummel me into a pulp. :D It is my first time doing this. haha :D_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: Nope **_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Four **

_Ziva's POV_

"What do you mean child abuse?" My voice sounds weak in my ears as I press closer to Tony. The nurse is suddenly self-conscious and looking down at her shoes.

"Ya know, why don't I just show you over to the waiting room." She starts to walk towards us to show us the the waiting room.

"I am her biological mother. A little while after she was born, I was told she was dead. I deserve to know what happened to my baby after all these years." I look into her brown eyes with tears flowing down my face. "Please."

After a while, she sighs and motions for us to follow her to a small office type of room. When Tony and I are settled into the chairs, she goes and shuts the door, waiting awhile to turn towards us. Finally, she looks towards us with her eyes glazing over.

"Before I start, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Maggie. I have been Chava's nurse since she came here two years ago in September. Sweetest little thirteen year old you would ever meet. I could tell she was a radiant, beautiful girl but when she first came in," Maggie choked up, tears welling up in her eyes. "she was battered and beaten. Her ribs, all of them were cracked or broken. And her legs were covered with big purple and almost black colored bruises. Her arms were the same way, too. There was these huge gnashes up and down her sides and one big one around her neck. Mr. and Mrs. Miller said that it was from her falling down a flight of stairs, but who gets that battered from falling down some stairs. And they didn't seem very worried about her at all. They just said to put her in a big room on the top floor when we were done and then they walked out of the hospital.

"Almost automatically, all of the nurses and doctors didn't like Mr. and Mrs. Miller. We were just finishing stitching her up when we found some sort of metal in her side. One of the nurses put it in this jar that she found and sent it to the lab to see what it was. When the results came back, we learned that it was a lead pipe. And there are no lead pipes in stairs. So, we immediately knew something was up but we didn't say anything. Every time that she has been back we have found more evidence of child abuse. The last time they were here, they beat her in the hospital because she wasn't able to translate for some Japanese dignitary.

"I was the one who walked in the room when it was happening. Chava had this sad look in her eyes that was mixed with an angry look. At first I thought she was angry with me but later on I realized that she was mad at herself for doing something wrong. Anyways, that Man came over to me and slammed me against the wall, saying that I wasn't to tell anyone about this. He also said that he had diplomatic immunity so if I tried to sue him or pin him for child abuse, he wouldn't be convicted. I was about to talk back to him when I heard Chava voice say , 'Don't hurt her. Hurt me. I am the one who did something wrong. I should be the one who is punished. I rang for her.' He turned to her with fire in his eyes. He took me, threw me out the door, and locked it. The next day they were gone.

"We knew that they were probably going to show up again, so we came up with a plan. When they came in, the nurse who was at the desk was going to stall them while another one called security and the FBI. They were going down if we had anything to do with it."

Tears were running down Maggie's face when she looks into my eyes. She smiles sadly at me and keeps her eyes on me. I feel Tony pull me into his arms and plant a kiss on my hair. Wet drops fall onto my head. I realize that we are all crying as tears pour from my eyes. I can feel my body start to shake violently as everything sinks in.

"Chava saved everyone of us from them at one time or another. When she was having good days and they weren't here, she would get up and go down to the children's ward. She would play with all of them and teach the girls ballet. She also taught them some different languages sometimes. When a little one couldn't go to sleep, she always seemed to know. She would go down there and sing them to sleep or read them a book. And when she had bad days she would go and talk to the older people or the ones that didn't have much time left. She just made everyone feel special. I am sorry that I couldn't do anything to save her from them, miss."

_A.N. Okay, so didn't really know how to end this, but I hope it is okay. Thanks for the reviews though! And if you want to review, that would be awesome. I don't have a schedule for this so it will be mostly random. Oh, and thank to those of you who favorited this story! You guys rock! _


	6. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own but I own the names to the hospital staff :P**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Five**

_Tony's POV_

Silence incases us when Maggie stops speaking. I feel Ziva shaking in my arms and tears slowly falling down my face. I look Maggie in the eyes and mouth thank you. She just smiles sadly, nods, and stands up. I watch her walk towards us and place a hand on Ziva's shoulder. No sooner than it happened, she walks away from us and out the door.

A few minutes after it shuts, Ziva snaps. Wails come out of her mouth as I rock her back and forth in my arms. When I catch a glimpse at her face, my heart breaks for her. Her eyes are red and puffy as well as her cheeks. Her mouth is hanging open slightly as silent screams come out. Tears are drowning her cheeks in waterfalls. I feel my own tears coming faster now.

"M-my baby-y. My A-ava. I a-am sorry. I am s-so s-so sorry-y."

I wrap my arms tighter around her, hugging her to my chest. Her words turn into mumbling as she presses her head into my chest. I feel my shirt starting to get wet with her tears when Maggie walks in again. She comes up to me and leans her mouth down to my ear.

"She's out of surgery. Everything went well. She'll be in recovery for a few more minutes, but then she will be moved to room 812 on the top floor. If you need anything, I will be her morning nurse. Lydia will be her afternoon nurse and Faith will be her night nurse. You can say in here until Brittany, one of her surgeons, comes to get you. She will take you up to Chava's room. Okay?"

I nod my head and smile weakly at her. She smiles back at me and leans down to Ziva's ear. I can't tell what she says, but I can tell it helps because Zi stops shaking violently in my arms. Maggie straightens up and smiles brightly at me when I say thank you. After she shuffles out of the room, Ziva moves her head to look up at me.

"Thank you, Tony. For everything." I smile down at her broadly.

"Any time, Zi. Any time."

_A.N. Sorry this was short guys I just wanted a kind of mushy chapter. Ziva is still OOC and Tony is too a tiny bit. But I wanted to show a more caring side of Tony. Thanks for the reviews guys! And thank you for favoriting my story and me as an author! You all still ROCK! Reviews are always welcome!_


	7. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: Nope-ide-nope-nope**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Six**

_Chava's POV_

Voices fill my head as I wake up from my nightmare. For the past few, what days? Hours? Minutes?, I have been having the same nightmare I have had for years over and over again.

It starts off with me, when I am seven, and my biological mother running around and playing in some bright sunny field. She is chasing me around with her long dark brown flowing behind her and a big smile on her face. I know. Cliche, right? Anyways, it suddenly gets really dark and dreary. A man that looks kind of like my mother grabs me from behind while another grabs mummy.

She is screaming and yelling my name, trying to get away from the man. I am thrown in this big bag and the next thing I know, I am in a strange house. I look through all the rooms, searching for her and crying out her name.

Right when I get to the room at the end of the hall, Mrs. Miller opens up that door and shoves me inside it. Mr. Miller is standing there beating my mum with the metal pipe. He swings around when he hears me and rushes towards me with an evil grin. Just before he gets to me, I see her. Her chest isn't moving and her eyes are staring straight at me. Again, I cry out her name, but when I do, Mr. Miller pulls up the pipe and swings it towards my head. Then all goes black or I wake up. But this time, it repeats itself over and over again. Until now.

You might be wondering why I have this dream, but it is kind of my life story. I am abused by my adoptive parents. Usually, he does the work while she sits there watching and laughing. But, sometimes she isn't there. That's when I get the worst punishment. When this happens, she is gone and he is drunk. Now, I really hope that you are getting what I am saying when I say worst punishment because I really don't want to explain it.

Anywho, when I was maybe six and a half, I asked who my mother was and where she was at. Somehow, I just knew that they weren't my parents. Hint, hint, the picture I had with me. And they said that she died when I was born. They said that I was the one who caused it too because she died during childbirth. I have never really forgiven myself for that because if I wouldn't have killed her, we would have been a nice family and her parents would still have her.

Well, after the day I asked them about my birth mother is when they started abusing me. Ever since then, I have had to be perfect because if I messed something up, I was beaten. Even if I didn't mess something up, I was beaten for the fun of it. Everything that I did had to be perfect. That is why I can speak thirty-two different languages. Woah, wait. Hold the phone. Thirty-two! Yes, Thirty-two, but if it helps any, I am only fluent in ten. I am a translator for the head honchos of the world. I have translated meetings for the Queen, President Obama, and others. Of course, I never meet them. My "parents" do. I just do all the work. So if I don't do it right, guess what is coming for me! Abuse! Yay! Not.

I also have to be perfect at everything I try. I have to get first place at every dance competition, whether it's ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, pointe, hip hop, or the defined dances (salsa, tango, etc.). I also have to get every lead role in the musicals I audition for. I have to win every singing, piano, and any other instrument I play, competition. Yup. Winning is "my" life goal. More like the Miller's goal. Are you starting to get my life now and how those people terrorized it?

Now that I have told you most of my life story, let's get back to the fact that I am waking up to pain that feels like knives repeatedly stabbed into your skin. And, yeah, I know what that feels like. That was day, what, two-hundred forty-seven when I was ten. Yes, I know what happened every day I got beat up. Anyways, I am starting to hear that familiar beeping that tells me that I have once again landed myself in a hospital. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything else.

But, wait, who are these people that I am hearing? I haven't heard them at Bethesda before. Maybe they are new. Huh. That's weird. The lady sounds like she's crying and mumbling something. Can you hear that?

"Tony. It has been nineteen days. I don't think I can take it anymore," the woman says.

Take what anymore? What is this pity yourself day? I am the one who has been repeatedly abused! '_Chava! Don't be mean! You don't know who she is or what she's been through! She could have been abused just like you!'_

Sorry, Conscience. I guess you're right. But still!

'_No but stills from you missy! I don't want to hear it!'_

Okay, okay! Sorry! (You guys must be enjoying the show right now.)

"Shh, Zi. It's okay. She'll wake up. Don't worry," the guy, Tony, says.

Wait. Are they talking about me?

"Tony, I have missed so much of her life. When they told me that she died, I had only held her once, I only got to hold her once, and I was heartbroken. Now, I finally get her back from the dead, so to speak, and she might just be taken away again. I can't go through that a second time. I need my Ava back. I-I need-d h-her b-back-k."

Ava? Dead? Missed so much of her life?

"She'll pull through, Ziva. She is your daughter after all," Tony states jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Daughter?

"W-when they s-said that she was-s dead-d, I gave-e her my old-d Star o-of David necklace and-d a p-picture of her and I in the h-hospital. What i-if she h-hates me for n-not knowing she w-was alive, T-tony?"

Picture and Star of David necklace? I have those two things from my mother.

"She won't hate you, Ziva. She will love you. And you will love her. Okay?"

Mum?

_A.N. I like this chapter a lot. I love the sarcasm and how you could hear what Tony and Ziva were talking about. Also, I really don't want to do all of the nineteen days when Chava was out so when it is needed, there will be flashbacks. I also want to say that I have many more ideas for this story and I have an idea for the next story i will be writing! It is going to be Tiva, of course, but that's all I can tell you!__Thank you soo soo sooooo much for the awesome reviews and for all the favorites and followers I have gotten! I have been jumping up and down all day because of these! Hugs for everyone!_


	8. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer: Don't own_**

**Safe Haven: Chapter Seven**

_Ziva's POV_

_****_"She won't hate you, Ziva. She will love you. And you will love her. Okay?" Tony reassures me.

Just as I was about to say okay, Chava starts moving around and her heart-monitor speeds up. Her hands start grabbing the sheets around her. They seem to be moving frantically, like they are trying to find something. I get up from Tony's lap and rush over to her bedside. As Tony runs out of the room calling for her nurse, I take one of her roaming hands into mine and start singing her the nursery rhyme I sang to her when she was first born.

_**"Go to sleep little one**_

_**May it be peaceful**_

_**May you dream of lovely things**_

_**And awake to find them real**_

_**Little one"**_

I hear footsteps rushing down the hall, coming towards us, as Chava's eyes start to flutter open. Tony's voice is in the background telling the staff to hurry up. A big smile creeps onto my face.

_**"Close your eyes little one**_

_**This is your lullaby**_

_**The love of God is evident in the miracle of you**_

_**Little one..."**_

Suddenly, Chava's eyes open and she starts clawing at her throat with her free hand. (She has a breathing tube in for some reason I do not understand.) Right at that moment, nurses, doctors, and the team come flooding in. They start to move me away from her when her hand grips mine tighter. One of her daytime doctors, Emily, beginnings asking her questions while her other daytime doctor, Casey, gets ready to pull out the breathing tube.

"Chava. If you understand me blink twice. Okay good. Now count down from three on your fingers. Good, good. Okay, Chava. Casey is going to take the tube out. When she says three, I need you to cough."

"Here we go. One. Two. Three."

The sound of rough coughing fills the air, when the tube come out. Nurse Lydia hands Chava a glass filled with water. As she sips her water, her eyes search for something. When they finally reach their destination, she shakily puts her cup down on a tray that appeared in front of her and slowly reached for her bedside table. There a picture sat, showing a smiling teenager and the cutest, little baby girl you have ever seen in a hospital. The teenager was smiling down at her daughter and the baby's hands are reaching up to touch the mother's nose. The baby's piercing sapphire blue eyes are staring into the mother's chocolate brown eyes, just as the beautiful blue eyes are doing to me right now.

A big, watery smile appears on my face when her hand comes undone from mine and reaches up to my face. Her hand softly roams my face as her eyes go between the picture and I. Her eyes start tearing up when I place my right hand in her hair. I hear shuffling in the background, assuming that everybody is filing out. She loses her grip on the picture and wraps her arms around me. As my arms engulf her, I move to sit on her bed and pull her into my lap, careful not to jostle her ribs. Tears slip down both of our faces as we hold on to each other for dear life.

"Do not tell me this is a dream, please. Please." Chava's british accent flows into my ear.

"It is not. It is not a dream." Tears roll down my cheeks when I hear her next words.

"I love you, mum."

**A.N. I just want to say that I have nothing against British people. I actually love them and I want to live in Britain when I grow up! I wanted Chava to have a british accent and for her to live in London. I hope this is okay with you guys. If anyone is offended, I can change it. Thanks guys!  
P.S. The song that Ziva was singing is called "Lullaby" by JJ Heller. I do not own this song! **


	9. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: Nada**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Eight**

_Tony's POV _

I watch through the window of Chava's room, taking in Ziva and her daughter. Smiles and tears cover their faces. Ziva turns her head towards the window and shoots me a dazzling smile that lights up her whole face. As she looks at me, I remember our conversation that took place when we woke up this morning.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Sunlight streams in through the window, waking me up. Just as I am about to get up and stretch, I feel someone snuggle into me. Looking down, I see Ziva's face pressed into my shirt. (The staff moved extra beds into Chava's room a couple of days ago when they realized that Zi and I both weren't going anywhere.) _

'_When did she get over here? I don't remember her falling asleep snuggled into me. DiNozzo! Who cares? Ziva is next to you! Very true, very true.' _

_I look down at her again, seeing her curly brown hair falling over her eyes. A small smile is plastered on her face and her hand moves down to grab mine. As we intertwine our hands, I pull both of us up so we are in a half-sitting position. Taking my free hand, I start to stroke her hair and pull it out of her face. _

_Her beauty always amazes me. Her hair is gorgeous and wild and it smells like lavender. Her lips when they are stretched into that untamed smile, that only comes out once in awhile, stops my heart. _

_And her eyes, oh her eyes. They speak volumes. They sparkle when she is genuinely happy. They get darker when anger flies through her veins. They get slightly wider when she sees something that scares her and then they turn to stone shortly after. Just her eyes could bring me to my knees when she looks at me with such determination and concentration. When her chocolate eyes meet mine, they take my breath away. _

_The eyes that I am thinking about flutter open. Slowly, they adjust to the brightness of the sunlight. When they finally open wider, she sees our intertwined hands. At first, I think she is going to yank her hand away, but she just looks me in the eyes and squeezes my hand. _

_I feel like this is the time to tell her my feelings, even though she stills has her daughter to worry about. Peering deep into her eyes, I start to pour my heart out to her. _

"_Ziva. I fell in love with you a long time ago and I never had the guts to say it. I know that it's a bad time with Chava and all, but I want to show you that I am in love with you. You take my breath away every day just by walking through the door. You are amazing in everything you do. You..." _

_I am interrupted when I feel a pair of lips on my own. When Ziva pulls away, I sit there stunned. After I snap out of it, I turn to see Ziva's radiant smile._

"_Can I take that as an 'I love you, too?'"_

_Ziva's smile gets wider as she nods her head._

"_You know, this reminds me of the movie __Made of Honor__." I am about to go on and tell her about it when her lips meet mine again._

"_Shut up, Tony," she mumbles against my mouth. _

"_Yes ma'am." _

_She takes her free hand and yanks my ear. I wince as she pulls away from me. Her stony stare tells me not to call her ma'am._

"_Sorry, sweetcheeks."_

_She lets go of my ear and lays her head back on my chest as I begin to stroke her hair again. After a while, I lean down to kiss her forehead and ask her a question. _

"_Ziva David. Would you do me the honor of going out on a date with me?"_

"_Yes." _

"_Good. Let's go down to the cafeteria and grab some grub. I am starving!" _

_**End of FLASHBACK**_

When I snap back into reality, Ziva's once-and-awhile smile is still there shining up at me. I send her a smile back and, without looking to see if any of the team was around, blew her a kiss.

"AAWWWWWW! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" Abby's excited voice filled the air.

I turned around quickly to see Abby and Gibbs standing in the hallway. I can feel myself get beet-red as I walk up to them, head down, and away from the window. When I don't feel a head-slap after awhile, I look up to see Abby smiling widely and Gibbs taking a sip of his coffee. Not a moment after I looked up, I was mauled by Abby in a bone crushing hug. Peering over her shoulder, I look at Gibbs with a confused look. He smiles a bit and takes his coffee away from his lips. Right on cue, a head-slap smacked me upside the head without hitting Abby.

"Bout time DiNozzo."

"Boss?"

"Ah. We all knew it was gonna happen someday."

"So, rule number twelve?" I ask hesitantly.

"Just leave it out of the office."

A big smile erupts onto my face as I pick Abby up and twirl her around. My laughter fills the air as I stop spinning her and kiss her on both cheeks. Her face is one of pure shock as I set her down and turn back to Chava's room. Ziva is standing outside Chava's room, closing the door. I race down to her and sweep her off her feet, much like I did with Abby. Again I get met with a face of shock but this one has some curiosity mixed in with it.

"Tony? What is going on?" she questions when I finally put her down.

"Gibbs is going on, that's what! No more rule twelve, Zi!" I put my hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious!" I watch as her face lights up in a smile again and engulf her in a hug. When we separate, I tilt her chin up and plant my lips on hers. After a few blissful seconds, we pull apart to the sound of Abby clapping and cheering. I pull her into one more hug and pepper her forehead with light kisses. A little while later she wiggles out of my grasp and walks over to Gibbs.

Abby and I shift off to the side as we watch Ziva stop a little ways away from Gibbs, like she is debating whether to do something or not. Suddenly, she flings herself at Gibbs and hugs him fiercely. He seems to be taken off guard for a moment but then embraces her and kisses her forehead.

"Thank you, Gibbs."

"You deserve happiness, Ziver."

I take that as my cue to begin to make my way over to them. I see Ziva's smile get even wider if that is even possible. Gibbs unwraps his arms from around her and nudges her over to me. When we meet each other, I put my arm around her waist. Gibbs turns to me with a stern yet happy-ish face. "You hurt her, I'll kill ya."

"Wouldn't expect anything less, boss," I reply as he sticks out his hand.

I take his hand with my free one and shake it firmly, while looking him in the eye. He sends me one of his Gibbs' smiles and turns to Abby. He leads her out towards the elevator as she puts both thumbs up and smiles at us. Ziva and I stand there watching them leave in silence.

_A.N. Hey guys. I figured out my schedule! I not going to do much on the weekdays but on the weekends, I am going to write as much as I can and post as much as I can! I also want to say that I am having some writer's block right now for this story and I wanted Tony and Ziva to get together sooner rather than later. I think this is my favorite chapter so far!_ _Thanks to everyone who reviews! I would love to get forty reviews when this is finished but that isn't for a while now._ _P.S. I am currently writing a book right now and it is romance so if this eve seems extremely sappy, it's because I a in that mind-set. _


	10. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: Don't own NCIS or Blessings by Laura Story!**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Nine**

_Chava's POV_

I hear Tony and Mum come in a while after I am tended to by the many nurses and doctors that have helped me many times. My eyes are closed and I act like I am asleep. Now, you may be asking why are you doing that?! You just got your mum back kid! Seriously! What is wrong with you?

Well, you see, I am not sure I can face her right now. I have no doubt that Maggie told her about what happened to me with the Millers and I just can't retell that story just yet. Because, when they were outside, I saw what happened to me. My legs are in braces again and my head and abdomen are all wrapped up in white gauze. Again, they took away my life. Again, they rule it. Again, they are taking me away. I don't want to be taken away from my mum. Not when we just found each other. But they are going to do it anyways.

Leaving my thoughts, I feel like I am drifting off. A nightmare-ish dream incases me again and when I awake, I awake with a start.

The city lights look like little stars out of my window. Beautiful scenes are painted in front of me. My mum and Tony are on another patient bed wrapped up in each other. I smile to myself as Tony tightens his grip on her when she moves slightly. Although my nightmare is still haunting my thoughts, I can't help but be inspired by what God has given me. Hope springs up in me as a slowly and quietly slide out of bed. When my feet hit the floor, I walk as quietly as I can with metal braces on to the door. I turn around once more to make sure I didn't wake them up.

Again, I smile when I see them. After I walk out of my room, I hear the door click into place and Faith coming around the corner. Her blonde hair is up in a fishtail braid and she is wearing her purple scrubs. She raises her eyebrows at me, smiles softly, shakes her head, and points down the hallway to the door that has become familiar to me. I smile widely at her and head down the hallway. When I walk passed her, I pause.

"Is the piano still up there under the clear tent?"

"Yes. It is still up there waiting for you. I still don't get why you would put a Baby Grand piano up there but you paid for it."

I smile broadly at her and move as swiftly as I can towards the door. Swinging it open, I am met with an endless staircase. Ascending the staircase, my smile gets wider when I feel the warm summer air from under the door in front of me. Warm wind pushes my hair back from my face as I open the door to the roof. The first thing I see is the clear tent, which holds the piano and sound rubbish, under it. I open the little velcroed flap, slip into the tent, and plug in the piano to the amplifiers. I pull the bench out from under the instrument and play a run to get the feeling of the sound and keys.

Beginning to play the first song that comes to my fingers, I take a deep breath. The opening chords of _Blessings by Laura Story _comes from the piano. The words flow off my tongue as I move into the song.

**We pray for blessings**

**We pray for peace**

**Comfort for family, protection while we sleep**

**We pray for healing, for prosperity**

**We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering**

**All the while, You hear each spoken need**

**Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things**

**'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops**

**What if Your healing comes through tears**

**What if a thousand sleepless nights**

**Are what it takes to know You're near**

**What if trials of this life are **

**Your mercies in disguise**

**We pray for wisdom**

**Your voice to hear**

**And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near**

**We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love**

**As if every promise from Your Word is not enough**

**All the while, You hear each desperate plea**

**And long that we have faith to believe**

**'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops**

**What if Your healing comes through tears**

**What if a thousand sleepless nights**

**Are what it takes to know You're near**

**And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise**

**When friends betray us**

**When darkness seems to win**

**We know that pain reminds this heart**

**That this is not, this is not our home**

**It's not our home**

**'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops**

**What if Your healing comes through tears**

**And what if a thousand sleepless nights**

**Are what it takes to know You're near**

**What if my greatest disappointments**

**Or the aching of this life**

**Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy**

**And what if trials of this life**

**The rain, the storms, the hardest nights**

**Are Your mercies in disguise**

I come out of my thoughtless daydream when the music ends. I can't tell how times I have come up here and played that song. It reminds me that all the sleepless nights might not be a bad thing or that all the tears that were shed were blessings God showered onto me. I hear someone softly come towards me. I smile again, as I know who it is. I speo them without turning around.

"Hello Tony. May I help you?"

The shuffling stops when he hears his name.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I have you sussed."

"Huh?"

"It means I have you figured out. And you are very bad at following people." I finally turn around to face him. He has a confused look on his face. I chuckle at him, slide over, and pat the bench next to me. He doesn't move at all when I do this.

"Oh, come on. I'm not going to bite. Just sit your bum down." He gives me a small smile and walks towards me. When he gets comfortable, he turns towards me.

"That was really good Chava."

"Thanks but I know you have questions, Tony. Just ask them."

"Why aren't you in bed?"

I turn my head to look at Tony. My smile slowly fades and I debate if I can trust him. Well, if mum can trust him, maybe I can. Here goes nothing.

"I don't sleep." He looks at me like I am crazy. "I am serious. I don't sleep. On a good night, I will get four hours of sleep. On a bad night, maybe only thirty minutes." His face tells me he is surprised by what I just told him. I turn my face upwards looking towards the starry-sky.

"If you don't mind me asking, why?"

"I have nightmares every time I go to sleep. They are always the same." I proceed to tell him about the dream I told you about before. When I get halfway through, tears start watering up in my eyes. Silence incases us when I stop talking. Tears are streaming down my face. I feel Tony wrap me up in his arms and I hear him whispering in my ear.

"I know that it is scary. I know that you don't really know me and this might be weird. But, I won't let anything happen to you anymore and neither will Ziva. They can't hurt you anymore."

He holds me while I cry and whispers encouragements in my ear. When I stop crying, I raise my head to look him in the eyes.

"How can you be sure that they won't take me away."

"I just know. Okay?"

Silence incases us again. I can tell he wants to say something more but he is struggling with it. I peer into his eyes expectantly. He sighs and takes a deep breath.

"I know you just met both of us but I want to ask you a personal question. Your mom and I just started dating and this won't be for a while but I hope it will be soon. I guess what I am trying to ask is if I can ask her to marry me." He looks like a scared puppy when he says this. I smile broadly up at him and giggle.

"Of course." I struggle with what I am going to ask next. Tony has already become like a dad to me in the past thirty minutes. He is more of a dad to me than Mr. Miller ever was for fifteen years.

'_You might as well just jump in head first.'_

Okay. Here goes nothing.

I put my head down and snuggle into his shirt

"I love you, poppi."

I feel him tense up but after a while he relaxed and hugged me closer to him.

"I love you, too, my sweet girl.

_A.N. I am a die hard Christian. I know that some people don't like that but I don't care. Sorry but God is my rock. If you want to stop reading this story I understand but don't think I am going to change it just to keep readers. Now, I am not going to force Jesus on you, but Chava will mention it every once and awhile. I just thought I would warn you. I LOVE this chapter! Chava and Tony daddy/daughter fluff! Hehe :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I would like to have at least two more reviews before I post something else. More reviews are always welcome! _YOU GUYS ROCK!


	11. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: NOPE **_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Ten**

_Tony's POV_

Chava shifts in my arms after a while and turns her face up to mine. Her blue eyes smile up at me and bring an enormous smile onto my lips. She called me poppi. It blows my mind to think that someone would call me dad. I never thought in a million years that I'd be called dad. But, this fifteen year old in my arms chose me, chose ME, to be called her poppi and it is the most amazing feeling ever.

"You should probably go back to sleep. Or at least go back down to my room. We don't want to have Mum waking up with neither one of us there."

"Why don't you come down too. You are going to need some more sleep, Chava. We don't need you getting sick." I peer down at her concerned. She just shakes her head a bit and laughs.

"I already know what is going to happen if I go to bed again, poppi. If you want to wake up to screaming and a fever stricken girl repeatedly, take me down stairs. But I don't think that's what you want because I know that I don't want it." She smiles softly at me and pushes away from me a little bit.

"Go. I will be fine. And if I go back to bed, I have an air mattress, a pillow, and some blankets. Plus, I need to rehearse for tomorrow anyways. I have a performance at the White House for an international convention or something like that. I also have to translate for some German President or their secretary. So I need to catch up on that."

I look at her with wide eyes, astonished.

"Wait. You are going to the INCA to perform and translate. We are going there tomorrow for a protection detail. The FBI, CIA, and NCIS all have to protect one person but no one knows who it is. We still have to protect the leaders and everyone else, of course, but they will have their own PDs. They said that this lady is one of the most important people in the room. All we know until we get there is that she's not a leader." I see her bite her lip as if she is debating to tell me something or not to. She looks up at me with a guilty-ish look on her face.

"I have to tell you something but you need to promise that you won't freak out. Okay?"

I nod my head to prod her on.

"I am the one who you have to protect. I am going to be one of the most important people there. I know a lot about the UNs plans because I have translated for everyone of those countries. A terrorist group could come and take me. If they get me to break, they know every war plan, every move, every strategy, every weakness of the United Nations. It has happened before. The PD wasn't protecting me and a terrorist cell got in and kidnapped me. Nothing happened, of course. The guys were caught a day later but still."

I stare at her with my mouth agape. How much has this girl been through in her lifetime? Abuse, Kidnapping. What's next? Near-death experience? Now she has to go to some convention to translate and perform, all while she knows that she is risking her life to do this.

"Avi...*" She interrupts me.

"I know. I will be careful. It will be okay. Now go get some sleep. I will be fine. Oh and when Ziva wakes up bring her up here again. I need to fill you guys in. You could also get your team. They could probably help."

"How did you know that I am in a team?"

"You said _we_ have to protect someone not I and I am guessing you are NCIS because people tend to list where they work or their hobbies last. At least, that's what I gather. Am I correct?"

Flabbergasted, I just nod quietly. She chuckled and shoved me a bit.

"Go. Mum will be up soon. It is about five and when I was 'asleep' she would wake up about now and talk to me. And I have a feeling she won't like waking up alone."

She stands up slowly, pulls me up, and leads me to the door. I turn around before I step down and plant a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be back up in a bit. Don't go too hard on yourself." I pull her into a hug and head down the stairs with a smile on my face.

_Chava's POV_

I watch as Tony glides down staircase. A smile appears on my face as I turn around and head back to the piano. Now what I tell you next might make you jump to conclusions. Conclusions that might make you think that I am crazy. I guess I am but still, just hear me out. When I was younger and the Millers left me home alone, I would daydream for hours on end. There would always be two people in my daydreams. The younger one's name was Tali and the older one was Rivika. They would help me color or read me books or sing me lullabies in Hebrew. This happened before I was abused

A little while after the abuse, I started seeing more people in my daydreams. The first person who came said that her name was Kate. She was the only one for about a week. Then a man named Ari came. They talked to me and encouraged me. After Mr. Miller was done abusing me, they came and got my mind off of it. We had a lot of fun together and even though I know they aren't real, I still think that they should be together. They are just too cute! (I am a huge romantic at heart!)

Anywho, more and more people started coming. Kate, Ari, Paula, he Frog (I don't know his actual name), Jenny, a guy named Agent Langer, Michele, Mike, Cade, Lavin, Eli, and Jackie are the nicer ones. They listen to me when I played the piano, violin, guitar, and when I sing. They help me with my dancing and with learning new languages. I think you get the gist of it. There were also bad people. They didn't start coming until I was maybe eight. Michael, Saleem, and Cobb were the worst ones. When they come into my dreams, Tali, Kate, and the others all jump up and form a bubble around me. Usually, Tali and Kate sit down with me and group hug me. Right then I will snap out of it and "wake up", so to speak, from my daydream.

Well, now that you know that, you can probably guess that I am having a daydream right now. Tali and Kate are sitting by the make-up area and changing room. They are the only two that help me get ready for performances. The sunrise is shining behind them and they have big smiles plastered on their faces.

"Hi baby girl."

"Hello Kate. Hello Tali." Tali turns to Kate with a mischievous smile.

"Kate? Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"Totally!" They both look at me and scream in unison.

"MAKEOVER!"

I shake my head, walk over to where they are, and put myself entirely at their mercy.

"Do your worst to me."

_A.N. I loved all of these reviews that I have gotten! You guys totally-otally ROCK MY SOCKS OFF! So thank you! I thought this was a good place to stop but I might be able to post this and another one tonight yet! I hope you guys like them!_ _Here is a preview for the next chapter!_

*Avi is pronounced ae-ve

_**Next on Safe Haven:**_

_Tony's POV_

_I walk into to Chava's room to see the sun rising through the window. Ziva is still where I left her, curled up and snuggled in a blanket on the bed. The light from the window shines onto her hair, making it sparkle and shimmer. On her face is a small, soft smile that makes her face glow. I head over to her, bend down, and kiss her forehead. _

"_Ziva. It's time to get up."_

_Her eyes open up to look at my face. Her smile gets a little bigger when she sees me. Her hands come up to wrap around my neck and pull me down for a kiss._


	12. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: Don't own.**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Eleven**

_Tony's POV_

I walk into to Chava's room to see the sun rising through the window. Ziva is still where I left her, curled up and snuggled in a blanket on the bed. The light from the window shines onto her hair, making it sparkle and shimmer. On her face is a small, soft smile that makes her face glow. I head over to her, bend down, and kiss her forehead.

"Ziva. It's time to get up."

Her eyes open up to look at my face. Her smile gets a little bigger when she sees me. Her hands come up to wrap around my neck and pull me down for a kiss. My hand reaches to her face and holds it in place. We pull apart after a few minutes and I take her face in both of my hands.

"Come on. We gotta get up and call the team. Then, we have to meet Chava on the roof."

A curious expression appears on her face. I smile at her and shake my head.

"Don't ask."

I help her out of the bed and send her to the bathroom with some fresh clothes. Right then, my phone buzzes on the bedside table next to me. Picking it up, I look at the caller ID.

_Gibbs._

"DiNozzo."

"_Have yourself and Ziva ready for the convention by two. I know you don't want to leave Chava, but..." _I cut him off.

"Yeah about that boss. You need to come to the hospital. Meet us by the reception area on Chava's floor. She's got something to tell us. Oh and can you pick up McGee and Abby."

"_We will be there in ten. This had better not be bad."_

He hangs up before I can say anything else. I sigh and shake my head. I head over to where my best tux is hanging up and some of my toiletries are. McGee brought the tux for me yesterday evening when everybody came to see Ava. After taking off my OSU t-shirt and putting on deodorant, I slip on a white undershirt and my white dress shirt, button it up, and tie my black tie. I then grab my black pants and suit jacket and walk into Ava's closet.

When I am all dressed, I slip out of the closet and grab my new black dress shoes. When I bend down to put them on, I hear the bathroom door open and see a pair of black strappy heels. After I am done putting on my shoes, I turn around and take her in. She is wearing a black one-shoulder dress that comes down to her is a little bit of bling on the right side by her waist. The black fabric is flowy and flares out when she spins for me. My mouth drops open and I am speechless. When she turns toward me, she has on a shy smile, her head is dropped, and she is blushing. Her hair is down and straight and she has on big diamond, hanging earrings. She has on a little mascara and some lipstick.

"Am I okay?" Her shy smile fades into a face of worry and she nervously starts smoothing down her dress, not looking up at me. I catch her face in both my hands and rest my forehead against hers.

"You look stunning." I lean down slightly and kiss her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, Tony." I look into her eyes to see them welling up with tears. Whipping a tear away, I smile at her and take her hand.

"Come on. Let's go. We gotta go meet Gibbs, McGoo, and Abby."

Free, light-hearted laughter spills out of her mouth. An enormous smile breaks out on her face. A joyful sparkle lights up her eyes and takes my breath away.

"Okay. Let's go."

_A.N. Hey guys! Okay so I thought I would get you guys some backround on the story so this is going to be a longer authors note. _

_First thing's first. I brought Kate, Tali , and the others in because I wanted it to be like they were helping her and protecting her for Ziva. (Since Ziva didn't know her daughter was alive and being beaten.) Kate and Tali are the main ones that will be brought up but every once in awhile there will be another one. Kate and Tali are Chava's best friends and they help her pick out clothes, makeup, and other stuff like that. _

_Second, there will be more songs in this fic but they won't be all the time. There will be one for Chava's performance of course. That is the next one coming up. _

_Thirdly, there will be more mommy/daughter moments in the next chapters, along with daddy/daughter and Tiva moments. There will also be McAbby but not as much. Just little snippets. _

_Fourth, I love you guys! You totally rock! Thank you for reassuring me with your awesome comments! I love all the feedback I am getting! If you have any ideas for this story review them to me. (that didn't make sense but I think you know what I am getting at :DDD haha) I will try my hardest to put them in this story or maybe they will help me with another story! :D Reviews are always welcome! Also, if you don't like something, PM me I will try to change it but it might not get there, so be prepared if it doesn't change. It doesn't mean that I am upset. :D I also may not answer back in a PM. I might just do it in a A.N. I hope that's okay! Love all of you! :DDDD_

_Fifth, Sorry that this was really short. I have been having some writer's block with this chapter. But the next chapter will be longer. _


	13. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: Noppers**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Twelve**

_Chava's POV_

Kate and Tali's hair of choice was the one they always pick, the "Selena Gomez messy updo." As I pin the last of my hair up, Kate and Tali are pointing to my plum purple ballet tutu. The same one as always. I shake my head and chuckle predictable. I grab the tutu, disappear to the dressing room, and begin to take off the metal braces. Next, I slip the tutu on along with some nude tights and grab the strapped crutches and wheelchair from the far corner. When I strap myself in, I nudge the wheelchair out of the dressing room and slowly head towards where Kate and Tali are shifting through my dresses that are always up here. (I've got my own little mall. Wink, wink.) I hear Tali squeal and Kate saying that it was the dress.

When I reach the wardrobe, I see a purple (again), ruffled dress that comes to my knees. Right on the rib cage, there is a purple sash that ties into a bow. It is perfect, except for one thing. It is strapless.

"Guys. It is smashing, but what about my scars. Have you forgotten that they are all over my arms and back? I can't show those people that!" I nervously chew on my bottom lip and wiggle my fingers around. A calming hand "lands" on me and I turn around to see Kate smiling softly at me.

"Don't worry baby girl. We got a plan." Tali points to a long sleeve black lace add on that would fit right under the dress. A smile starts tugging at my lips as I hear people climbing up the stairs. Kate and Tali rush and put the add on and dress in a zip-up dress bag. I hobble over to the vanity and look back at Kate and Tali once more. I smile and wave slightly as they disappear.

After turning around and picking up the stereo remote, I turn Colton Dixon's This Is Who I Am on low. My performance piece starts playing and I mentally run through the routine as I unstrap the wrist bounds on the crutches.

Over the music, I hear voices and a door creaking open. Laughter flows into my ears and brings a bigger smile to my face. As I undo the final clasp on the crutches. I hear a collective gasp and I spin around to see Mum's eyes becoming glossy. Tony's eyes have gone wide. A goth lady has a hand over her mouth and Thom E. Gemcity is standing right next to her with his arm wrapped around her. A man with blue eyes almost breaks his styrofoam coffee cup.

Woah. Wait. Thom E. Gemcity!

"You're. You're Mr. Gemcity! I love your books! I have read Deep Six twelve times!" My eyes are wide and my mouth is hanging open in awe. The Gothic lady suddenly becomes familiar when my eyes shift toward her. I begin to stutter wildy.

"A-A-Amy?" My eyes follow down the line of people. "L. J. Tibbs? Tommy? Lisa? McGregor?" Thoughts start racing around in my head.

'I must be going bonkers.' My hands fly up to my head when I see a shiny S.U. scar on my left palm. Slowly pulling them back down, I see all of my other scars along my arms and my legs.

'I didn't put on my jacket or my sweatpants!'

Suddenly, my right hand flies up and back to feel my shoulders. The letters M, H, C, D, and S.U. litter them as a constant reminder of my kidnappings, how I was taken advantage of, and Mr. Millers drunkenness. I bury my head in my hands as my eyes start to silently well up.

'You are not going to cry, Ava! Do you hear me? NO CRYING!'

As the tears go away, I feel a callused hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I see the man with the blue eyes and the coffee cup. He is looking at me kindly and caringly. (Is that a word?)

"What are those, Chava?" He speaks softer than I thought he would. I pull myself together and remind myself about the "mission", so to speak.

"They are not of importance right now. I can assure you that you will find out later. Right now, you need to know who you are protecting and I need to get my jacket and pants."

I politely smile at him, reach behind me to get my crutches, and strap myself into them. Slowly, I pull myself up and shuffle over to the wardrobe. A light orange-y jacket and a pair of thin flannel pants are hanging over my dress bag. I unstrap myself again and struggle to slip my arms into the sleeves of the jacket.

Only then do I realize that someone has been standing behind me. Or someones. A pair of hands with black painted nails hold my crutches while two pairs of bigger hands hold me steady and a fourth small, olive-colored pair helps me with my garments.

No one has ever done this for me. It's stupid, I know. But, I have never had help with putting on clothes when I needed it. More than once I would fall to the ground trying to get pants on and, even though there must have been a loud thump, no one would come to help me. This time I didn't fall. I didn't hit the ground. I am being held steady by two pairs of large helping hands. I am not worrying about my crutches falling because someone is here to hold them. I am being cared for as my mum's hands help my fingers find the ends of the sleeves. I am being helped not by strangers, but by my family. Family in every sense of the word. My mum, my poppi, my grandpa, my aunt, and my uncle. My family.

_A.N. Okay I lied. The song will be coming in two chapters, not this one, as you can clearly tell. Next chapter will be Ziva's POV! Finally! I feel like it has been forever since we have seen her feelings! In the next chapter you will find out what more about the protection detail. :D Love the reviews you guys are giving me! Review please! :DDDDD_ _P.S. Sorry this chapter is short. :-/_


	14. Chapter 13: Live Like That

_**Disclaimer: Nope **_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Thirteen**

_Ziva's POV_

Scars. That's all I see. Scars almost identical to mine. Except for four of the brandings. I have seen S.U. before. I can't believe she was there. I thought that it was just a dream.

A shorter girl came and gave me water, food, clothes, and comfort when I was in Africa. I always thought she was just a figment of my imagination because she looked kind of like my baby girl (But older of course). But that was impossible. She was dead, or so I thought. She was my light. That bright spot in my day or week. She use to come and sing a disney princess song to sing me to sleep. And at the end of every one of those songs, she would tell me that we were going to have that life some day. We were going to be princesses when we left.

Sometimes she would stay the whole night, stroking my hair and talking to me while I was asleep. One night, I decided to stay up for a while, just to hear her talk. She told me how she was grateful that she was there. I did not understand why that was, so I asked her. She smiled, shook her head, and replied that it was part of the plan. Not her plan, but God's plan for her.

"_See, I might not have wanted to be here, but it has brought me closer to Him. There is a saying called total control and when you have total control of your life nothing seems to go right or you do not get to see the little things in life. And even though I have never really had total control of my life, I have seen what it does to people and it is scary. They do not get to see precious moments that rarely come around. I do not want total control because, with it, my problems are like the weight of the world on my shoulders. With God in total control, my problems are as light as a feather. This problem that we are in right now does not faze me because I know that it is not on my shoulders. I am not saying that you should not be in total control if you want to. It is just my personal opinion." She looked over at me. "Now, me enough about me. Tell me about yourself."_

I told her that I would rather hear about her, so I asked her about her life. She told me about her husky, Mulan, about her favorite things to do, how she was abused, how she started to dance, sing, and act, and stories. Stories about how she wanted to grow up and move the world, how she wanted to show everybody who ever doubted her that she could be something great. The point is she told me a lot and I told her a lot in return. But there was two things that stuck with me.

_**Flashback**_

_It was the night before I got rescued. She had my head in her lap and her left hand in my hair. She talking about showing people she could do it. _

"_I want to be greater. Not greater than everyone else, but greater than myself. I want to be a better person, a __greater_ _person, than who I am right now. I want to live up to that greater calling that is nudging at my heart." She turns her head to look at me. _

"_Be greater, Ziva. Promise me that __when_ _you get out of here, you will not just settle for good enough. Go for greater because you are capable of it. Do not let anybody tell you that you cannot, that you are weak, that you are worthless. Show them the greater you."_

_It felt like I should be saying that her. Before I could reply to her, he came barging in. He started screaming at her and I in Arabic, scolding her. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her out from underneath me. The noise level was added to when she started yelling in French, calling out my name and pleading. _

_Just as I was getting up to help her, a guard came and knocked me down. He kicked me in the ribs twice, even though he knew they were already bruised or broken. Alisabith slipped out of his grip and started to limp over to me quickly, but she was not fast enough. He grabbed her by the waist and dragged her out of the cell. I heard her screaming my name and calling me in French. _

_The door closed on my cell but I could still hear her yelling. This time though it was laced with pain. It went on for fifteen minutes. For fifteen minutes I heard her scream. For fifteen minutes tears poured out of her eyes. Fifteen minutes after they took her, I heard her say her last words. _

"_Je suis désolé que je ne pourrais pas vous obtenir d'ici. Je suis si si désolé." _

_I am sorry I could not get you out of here. I am so so sorry. _

_**End of Flashback**_

She said be greater. She said sorry for something she could not control. Two years later on that same day, I heard this song called Live Like That.

**I want to live like that**

**And give it all I have**

**So that everything I say and do**

**Points to You**

**If love is who I am**

**Then this is where I'll stand**

**Recklessly abandoned**

**Never holding back**

**I want to live like that**

**I want to live like that**

Recklessly abandoned and never holding back. What does that mean to me? And giving it all that I have? What is all that I have? Looking at her now, I see that she has lived recklessly abandoned and gave all that she had because she still is striving to be greater. Even after all that she has been though, she is still going strong. I want to live like that.

_A.N. I was listening to this song today and this chapter just kind of came to me. I like this chapter a lot because I think it is a sweet mommy/daughter moment. Hope you guys like it! Next chapter will again be Ziva's POV. This will be where the team finds out what they are doing. Sorry I keep on telling you guys wrong. :/ I would like to have four more reviews before I post the next chapter. Luvs you guys!_


	15. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: Nope**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Fourteen**

_Ziva's POV_

After we help Chava with her clothes, Gibbs comes up behind us with a wheelchair. I grab at Tony's hand after she is settled in, feeling tears prick my eyes. He looks at me with watery eyes as well and squeezes my hand. He lets go and pushes Ava back to the vanity. We all sit down around her and listen to her tell us what we need to hear.

"As Tony here knows, the person you will be protecting is me. I am a translator to all of the head honchos of the world. I have translated for many if not all of the U.N. countries and more. I know war plans, strategies, weaknesses, and strengths. If a terrorist were to kidnap me and actually get me to break, which is a very _slim_ chance, they would have everything they needed to bring down _anybody_ they wanted. I have been kidnapped before by a group that stormed an international convention because my PDs have not done their job twice. The first time, I was found a day later. The second time, I was not found for six months. Personally, I do not want that to happen again."

I stop listening at this point. I cannot handle it. My Ava was kidnapped, abused, hospitalized, and tortured and I didn't even know it. What happened? Why did this happen to her? Why did it not happen to me? "Mum. Stop."

I turn my attention back to her.

"I can see it in your face that you are blaming yourself for what I have been through. It is not your fault. It is okay. I am fine. Do not think for a second that you could of done anything to prevent this. I heard you while I was out. I know how you feel. Please don't blame yourself."

I throw her a watery smile and nod.

"Okay. Okay."

We turn back to the group to see with confused faces on. It dawns on me that we were speaking in Hebrew. A joyful laugh escapes from our mouths. I scooch myself over towards Tony and snuggle into his side. I sneak a look over at Chava and see her wink at me. Winking back, I shift back and quiet down. Tony rests his head in my hair and loops his other arm around me. His breath is hot in my ear.

"I love you, Zi."

A smile erupts on my face and I squeeze his hand. Gibbs' voice cuts through the air.

"What will you be doing tonight?" This question is directed towards Ava.

"For the first part I am the entertainment. I will be performing on stage with silhouetting ballet. So you do not need to do much there. After that, I will need help changing into my dress and getting settled in the wheelchair. Then, I will be translating for a German dignitary. I do not remember if she is the president or the secretary. But she will have her own PDs. You need to be hidden so they don't freak out. Only two of you can be next to me at all times but you don't even have to be there that much. Mum. You and Poppi will have to act as my parents. You two will probably be the two next to me a lot. Sorry. For everybody else, you will want to inform them to be station by the doors. Any questions?"

Everybody's hands go up except for Tony's. She smiles slightly, shakes her head, and turns towards Abby. Her eyebrows rise and she sends Abby an expectant look.

"Yes?"

"What will you need for changing? How many people need to be there? And where should they be at?"

"Everything that I need is in the dress bag or in the box beneath it; two people would be enough; and there will be a spot off of the back left-hand corner of the stage that will be set up for this purpose." She sends Abby a bright smile and turns her head towards McGee, acknowledging him.

"How far away should we be standing?"

"About ten to fifteen feet should be good. I will be stationary most of the night, so it should not be too hard." Again, she turns her head. This time it's to Gibbs.

"How ya gonna perform?" Short and to the point as always.

"Ah. Excellent question. I will be, how do you say it, sucking it up. I promised that I would perform and I never break my promises unless I am unconscious or being held hostage." She smiles sadly at us and looks downwards. "I may fall every once and a while but do not be alarmed. I will get back up."

Silence incases us when she tells us this. A mixture of surprise and shock runs through my veins. But I still have one question on my mind.

"Who is Poppi?"

She smiles, more brightly this time, and points to Tony. I feel him smile against my forehead and wrap his arms around me tighter. A warm fuzzy feeling erupts in me. An enormous smile spreads across my face. Before I can say anything else, a timer beeps. Chava looks at it and sighs.

"I have to be there in an hour. I better get going." She turns to wheel herself over to the closet but stops and faces back to Tony and I.

"One more thing. You are going to want to call me Alisabith."

With that, she wheeled around and started towards the closet again. Suddenly, she stopped short while she was starting to get up. Her breath gets shorter and her legs start wobbling. Her eyes settle on the rooftop across from us. I turn my eyes towards the roof only to find nothing. I tilt my head up to look at Tony but he has a confused look on his face too. Our attention turns back to see Ava shaking uncontrollably. My eyes go wide and my heart starts to pound. We look just in time to see her collapse.

_A.N. Sorry that this is short. I had a really hard time with this chapter. Writer's block was getting to me but I figured it out at the end! Next weekend you will find out what happened! Luvs ya lots guys! P.S. I would like to have at least five more reviews before I post again! :D_


	16. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: Noppers**_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Fifteen**

_Chava's POV_

My head feels fuzzy and there is a throbbing sensation next to my temples. I slowly open my eyes to see Mum, Poppi, and the three other people staring down at me with concerned looks. Putting a confused look on my face, I turn my face to see myself on the ground. Realization hits me and I begin to slowly rise. Mum holds on to my arm while Poppi gently places his hands on my back to help me up. I look at the other three to see the Gothic girl, who I believe is Amy, leaning heavily against Mr. Gemcity. His arm is around her and her head is somewhat in the crook of his neck.

They look cute together. I need to find out if they are a couple.

'_Really?! You had a seizure; your mum is probably freaking out and you are thinking about matchmaking?'_

Oh hey, conscience. Long time, no listen. '

_Really! Really? You are just an ungrateful little bugger, aren't you? And after all the great advice I have given you, too!'_

Hey! I am grateful for many things! Just not your advice.

'_Ha ha. Very funny.' _

Oh shut your trap. You woud say the same to me.

'_Ah... Oh your right.'_

I thought so.

Anywho, while I was spacing out apparently somebody asked me a question that I did not answer, so everybody was looking at me strangely.

"Pardon me. I did not mean to do that." I hang my head with embarrassment. "I did not mean to scare you."

A small comes up to brush my hair away from my face. I peer up to see my mum looking at me with love and concern in her eyes.

"What happened, baby girl?"

"I have seizures every once and awhile. I had a minor spinal cord injury last year and another time four months ago." A collective gasp spreads out around the group. "It's okay though. I am fine now." I rush to this get out and look at my mum again. There is a look of pity in her eyes now along with the others.

"How often is once in awhile?"

I bow my head as I hesitate to answer this question knowing that they weren't going to like my answer. I guess my silence was long enough to make her worry because when I look up again she has wide eyes and a pleading look in her eyes. I wince and hang my head in shame.

"Every day. Sometimes every six hours. Or when I wake up."

"Oh, honey," comes from the gothic girl as she sweeps me into her arms. "We will take care of you. Your Auntie Abby, Uncle Timmy, Grandpa Gibbs, your mommy, and poppi. You won't be left alone again. Okay?"

I nod as much as I can while patting her back. My ribs are killing me and she is crushing me but I don't want to hurt her feelings. Gradually, I begin to speed up the patting on the back. Pretty soon my hand is at the fastest it can go. I shoot a panicked look at my mum and dad only to see him comforting her. I swing my eyes around to see who I am guessing is "Grandpa" Gibbs. My eyes go wide and I can feel my face start to get red.

"Abby. She can't breathe."

She releases me quickly as I start gasping for air. After a few coughs, I sent her a weak but genuine smile.

"Thank you, Aunt Abby. For not leaving me alone."

She smiles widely at me and leans back into... Uncle Timmy? Not really sure if that is his name but okay. A tiny annoying beeping alarm sounded in the background. A sigh escapes my lips and I turn to Gibbs.

"Can you help me up?" He just nods and moves to get up. I hold my hand out expecting him to grab it. Instead, in one swift movement, I am lifted from under my legs and set in my wheelchair. I smile as I feel myself being pushed towards the wardrobe.

Tony and my mum appear in front of me and ask me what I need. I point to the box and to the hanging bag. Tony reaches down and grabs the box as Mum tries to snatch the bag off the hook but fails. I hear Poppi chuckle, see him set the box down again, and watch him grab her by the waist and hoist her up just enough to get the bag. She triumphantly holds it up while he sets her down. When he sets her down, he plants a kiss on the top on her head.

"AWWWW!" Aunt Abby and I say in unison. We look at each other and nod. It is like we are having the same thought. '_They are sooo cute together!' _

I laugh and turn back towards mum and pop only to see them kissing.

"Ugh. Guys. Come on! We have to go! I am going to be late!"

Mum holds up her index finger and wraps her arms around daddy's neck. I roll my eyes playfully and watch as Gibbs leaves from behind me and slaps poppi on the head. A giggle escapes my mouth as poppi winces. Gibbs turns around, winks at me, and pushed me towards the stairs.

"Stop eatin each other's face off and get your as..."

"Ah. Ah. Ah," I interrupted him. He peers down at me with a pointed look.

"... get your _butts_ to the car. We gotta go."

"There. Does that make you feel better, Mr. Grumpy Gills? Knowing that you made my day? Hmm?"

He just shakes his head and turns away from me. But I do not think that he realizes that I see him smirking. I laugh and turn my head around as Gibbs picks me up.

"Come on, people. Time to get this show on the road. Get your feet grooving and your bums moving." I pause and make a weird face. "That really does not work with my accent does it?"

* * *

When we get there, I go into the "dressing room", try a wash closet, with Abby and Mum. After we finish placing my hair back again and making adjustments on my outfit, they head out again. Mum stops at the door, turns around, and rushes back to me. She pulls me into a lion-hug and kisses my forehead. Looking into my eyes, she takes my hand and shows me her's. A S.U. is branded on her left hand just like mine.

"I love you, baby girl. Never forget that. I cannot wait to see what you can do, but you need to promise me something."

With my eyes starting to tear up, I nod.

"Do not strain yourself, okay? I just got you back. I do not want you leaving again." She gives me a watery smile and hugs me once more before walking backwards and heading out.

"You've got this. I believe in you, Ava.

With that she was gone. I sit there for a while staring at my hand. There is a knock on the door and an activities coordinator appears.

"You are on in five." She leaves me in my wheelchair.

After shooting up a prayer to God, I push myself out of my chair.

"It's showtime."

_A.N. Sorry this is late, but I didn't get as many reviews as I would have like and I was extremely busy this week. But thank you to the people who reviewed! You guys rock! Hope you all are having a great week! Luvs ya!_


	17. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**_

Note: It may help if you listen to In and Out of Time by Colton Dixon when reading the first part of this. :D

**Safe Haven: Chapter Sixteen**

_Chava's POV_

Grabbing my mask from the attendant standing to the side, I make eye contact with the technical attendant and nod. From stage left I see the curtains opening and gasps throughout the audience. On the stage are multiple mats, a trampoline, four tiered-trapezes, aerial silks, and a seven meter tall platform. In all honesty, it kind of looks like a daredevil ring. The only difference between me and a daredevil is that I know how to do all of these things.

The opening piano chords of In And Out Of Time by Colton Dixon comes on over the loudspeaker. The fourth measure cues my entrance. A spotlight shines onto my ramp and accentuates my first spin and pointed feet. I pose in the spotlight and wait for the music. The piano fades out and there is silence for a split second. Then, an electric guitar, and a synthesizer take over. When this starts, I drop my pose and get ready to run. A drum set is added to the mix as I run a few steps, do a round-off, and go into three back-handsprings then a standing back flip.

A bass guitar is added in as I run and jump onto the trampoline, grabbing onto the first of the four trapezes. I flip, twirl, and swing from one to the other then drop to the floor gracefully and begin to leap, spin, and Plié my way in front of the aerial silks. When the song plays "But the past in haunting me," I grab onto the silks and pull myself up. The chorus starts as I am wrapping up my legs and getting ready for a fall. Before the fall, I pose and swing the silks a little. Waiting, I turn my face out to the audience for the first time in my performance.

Jaws are dropped and eyes are wide as I hear my cue and fall. Gasps go around the room as I catch myself about twenty centimeters above the ground, face down. I wince as the silk catches my legs wrong. I fall down on my hands and somersault out of the predicament and stand to do more Pirouettes, Arabesques, and some Ronds de jambe en l'air. When the chorus turns instrumental, I run to the trampoline and jump up doing standing backflips to standing frontflips to back-handsprings to aerial cartwheels.

When the second verse comes on, I switch to the trapeze and hoist myself up, one after the other, till I get to the top. There I flip, spin, and stand on my tiptoes doing ballet Attitudes. From the last trapeze, I leap to the silks and pull myself up as the chorus starts and ends again, leading to instrumentals. I reach the tops of the silks when the second run of the bridge ends. (I posed every once and awhile, wrapping my feet up and falling backwards then pulling myself back up.) Right next to my feet is the seven meter tall platform. I leap graceful on to it and do more spins and leaps on the meter wide platform.

I hear the seven note piano solo and get ready to jump. The chorus starts and I fly off of the platform, flipping and tumbling down towards the ground. Gasps and cries echo throughout the room as I near the ground. At the last second, I reach both my hands out and wrap the silks around my wrists. I flip and let go, landing on my feet soundly as fog starts coming up from the ground.

I hop on the trampoline on last time and do more tumbling. The chorus fades and the bass guitar takes over. When the electric guitar comes back in, I bounce hard and do five backflips. When I land on the trampoline, a blanket of fog hides my escape. I limp out stage right and circle back around to my dressing room by the time the song ends.

My breath is ragged and my throat is dry. After ripping off my mask, I find some bottles of water waiting for me, greedily snatch one, and halfway chug it down. There is also some towels, wet and dry ones, waiting for me to use. I sit down and put a cold wet one on the back of my neck and wipe my face off with a dry one as I hear thunderous applause. My adrenaline rush is coming down and I feel pain shooting up my legs and arms and through my ribs and back. My head is starting to pound and I am seeing black spots in my vision.

Tears are running down my face as my door bursts open. Ima comes rushing in with Abby behind her. Ima bends down to my level and hugs me. I can feel her wet tears in my neck as she holds me.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" Abby squeals. Ima pulls out of the hug and captures my face between her small hands. "That was AMAZING! HOW DID YOU DO ALL OF THAT!?" Her voice fades out as Ima looks at my tears and stares deeply into my eyes.

"What is wrong, tateleh?" She whispers softly so that only I can hear. More tears start gushing out of my eyes. Her thumb brushes some of them away.

"It hurts, Ima. It hurts really bad," I sob as she slowly pulls my head to her chest.

"Where does it hurt, honey?" Her body rumbles as she whispers to me again, trying not to clue to Aunt Abby that we aren't listening to her.

"Everywhere. But my legs are the worst." My voice comes out shaky and broke. I hold back a cry as pain shoots up my legs. Mum whispers sweet nothings in my ear as she calms me down. When I calm down a bit, she shifts a bit and hands me a Kleenex. Aunt Abby stops talking. I guess she realized we weren't listening. Then Mum starts talking.

"Abby. Can you go get Tony and Gibbs and tell them to come in over here;then can you and Tim go out to the car and get the compressor blanket for her legs, please?"

I hear a door open, boots rushing out of the room, and a door closing. Ima pulls away from me and slowly puts my feet in her lap. As I am wiping my eyes, I feel her hands softly untying my pointe shoes. As soon as my aching feet are free, she helps me take my tutu and tights off the slips my black long sleeve add on and purple ruffled dress on. By the time we are done we hear a soft knocking at the door. After Ima says come in, Grandpa Gibbs walks in with Poppi. Poppi rushes towards Ima and I and softly pulls me into a side hug.

"What's up, Avi?" The pet name brings a watery smile to my face.

"My legs hurt really bad." Another jolt of pain racks my body. I look down to see Mum trying to put on my leg braces. Her hand slips and hits my thigh. A cry of pain escapes my lips and tears start flowing down my face again. Squeezing my eyes shut, I feel small arms wrap around me and hear many apologies coming from my Mum. I feel Poppi leave my side, hear him sit down on the floor, and seeing him slowly beginning to put my braces on.

I grab for Ima's hand as pain shoots up my legs. Squeezing my eyes shut and death gripping her hand, I try to focus on her whispering.

"You did an amazing job! I am so proud of you!" I hiss as Poppi tightens my braces and a few more tears escape.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You'll be okay. It'll all be okay."

Poppi does the second one quicker and is tightening it when she finishes speaking. I let go of Mum's hand and slowly wipe away my tears. Looking up, I see Grandpa Gibbs standing behind my wheelchair and Poppi starting to pick me up. I am getting lifted out of my chair and placed in my wheelchair as Uncle Timmy and Aunt Abby walk in with a compressor blanket and my warm, fuzzy pair of purple slippers.

Funny. I thought I put those in my box. Huh. They must have just fallen out.

Aunt Abby puts on the fuzzy slippers while Ima takes the blanket from Uncle Timmy and carefully wraps the blanket around my legs. As the heaviness settles on my legs, a numbing pain goes through my body. I death-grip the closest thing to me, which happens to be Grandpa's hand. Quickly, I snatch my hand away and look up at him.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to." He smiles sadly at me and takes my hand back in his.

"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness."

I give him a funny look and it is replied with a soft, gravely chuckle. Shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders, I turn around to face Ima who has my makeup in her hands. After a quick touchup, Uncle Timmy opens the door and, with him, Aunt Abby, Ima, Poppi, and Grandpa behind me, we head out into the death ring that's called politics.

_A.N. Hey guys! I am back! I am so sorry about not updating. I was on a mission trip four weeks ago. Then I had tech week for my musical the next week. Then I had six shows the next weekend. And then five more shows last weekend. Now, I am catching up on my sleep! Haha :D I hope you all liked this chapter! Luvs ya all! _


	18. Chapter 17

_**Disclaimer: Nope **_

**Safe Haven: Chapter Seventeen**

_Chava's POV _

Languages piled upon languages fill the room. Laugh and merriment created a lively atmosphere. Massive chandeliers hang down from the ceiling. White table cloths adorn the round banquet tables with black paisley, cloth napkins and black appetizer plates for decoration. Ornate silverware sparkle against the stark white cloths add a bit of brilliance to the setting. Many of the politicals are exchanging pleasantries and small talk.

Grandpa, Uncle Timmy, and Aunt Abby slowly trickle away, leaving Ima, Poppi, and I alone. A forced smile graces my face as spasms of pain shoot up my leg. I spot the German politician, Jacqueline, and her security making their way towards us. My back straightens and my posture becomes professional.

"Hallo. Ich bin Alisabith. Ich werde Ihre Übersetzer zu sein für diesen Abend. Hinter mir sind meine Eltern, Tony und Ziva. Wollen wir uns setzen?"*

"You do know that I can speak most english, right?" she questions in her German accent. I give her a confused look.

"I am not trying to be rude, but if you can speak english then why did you..." She cuts me off with a bright smile and a wave of her hand.

"I hired you because there might be some things I do not understand and this is a very important conference. I want to make sure that I understand everything." She starts to walk towards our table as she is speaking, the smile never leaving her face. When we arrive at the table, she removes a chair and hands it to one of her guards. "Would you please take this to one of the hosts for me?" He nods. "Thank you, Abel."

A small smile comes to my face at the gesture. Poppi wheels me into the empty slot while Ima takes a seat next to me. Jacqueline starts to talk again.

"I would like to commend you on that performance you just put on. It was quite a show. I can't figure out how you did it, with being in a wheelchair and all. Still, I applaud you."

My jaw drops. I had a mask on. No one was supposed to know that it was me. What are my parents going to say? What is going...

Jacqueline's voice snaps me out of my revenue.

"Your name is in the program, dear."

Oh. She smiles at me and pats my shoulder. Then, she turns to my parents.

"Your daughter is just amazing!" Ima smiles at me and grabs my hand underneath the table.

"She sure is," Poppi says while smiling at me.

"I am sorry, but what did you say your names were again?"

"My name is Tony and my wife's name is Ziva."

I raise an eyebrow at him and he winks back in return.

"Tony and Ziva? I thought your names were Zachary and Jillette." She gives them a confused look. My breath and heartbeat quicken when she says the names of my adoptive parents. I feel a small hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. After leaning forward a bit, pain shoots through my body. I bite my bottom lip to hold back a cry. I hear Jacqueline's worried voice in the background along with my mum's and Poppi's.

"Oh my. I am terribly sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Shh. It's okay. They are gone. They can't get to you anymore. They are gone. Shh."

"It is okay, Miss. They were her adoptive parents. Just recently, there was a car crash..."

My breath speeds up even more as flashbacks run through my mind.

_The cold metal pipe hitting my ribs. The bony fist connecting with my jaw. The sickening sound of cracking bones. The nightmares. The kicks. The chains. _A soft, calming voice breaks through.

"Ava. Ava, baby. Look at me." I slowly bring my eyes up to meet teary brown ones. "You need to calm down, honey. They are gone. They. Are. Gone." I draw in a shaky breath.

"They are gone?"

"Yes, baby girl. They are gone. They can't hurt you anymore. They can't hurt you anymore." She cups my face in her hands, pleading for me to understand.

They are gone. They are gone, as in dead gone. I don't know if I am relieved or sad. Again, Jacqueline's voice comes in again.

"Hurt you?" I peer up at her through teary eyes and nod slightly. Her eyes widen and I quickly jump in with a wavering voice.

"Do not tell anyone, please. Please, don't tell anyone!" I plead. Her hand comes to rest on top of mine. A very small smile appears on her face as she nods her head. After a moment, she gets up out of her chair, kneels on the floor, and hugs me.

"You are a brave girl. Do you know that? I am sorry that that terrible thing happened to you. I can't imagine how any parent could do that to their child." She shakes her head, looks me in the eye and smiles. "You are a very special girl. Keep your head up."

"Thank you."

She hugs me once more and moves to sit back in her seat. My breathing is still uneven and the pain in my legs is becoming worse. Ima's hand resumes rubbing soothing circles on my back. Her free hand comes up and cradles my cheek, making me look into her concerned eyes.

"What do you need, tateleh? What hurts?" I look around (to make sure that no one notices my tears) and see Poppi and Jacqueline listening intently to the bloke at the podium, Grandpa Gibbs is by a tree talking quietly with some white haired fed, and Uncle Timmy and Aunt Abby in the corner having a serious but awkward conversation. Hmmm...

_Ava get back on track!_

Sorry... Any who.

"My legs and back hurt," I says with tears still streaming down my face. Ima wipes away my tears with her thumb and gives me a peck on the head. Then, she reaches down and grabs a small clutch I did not know she had and rummages around in it for something. When she is done, there is a small tin in her hand. She opens it up, grabs two Advil out of it, and hands them to me with a glass of water.

"Take these. They should help, okay?" She says firmly. I simply nod and take the medicine. My breathing has calmed down. After a few more deep breaths, I wipe my eyes and look up at the speaker. He drones on and on about security and how important it is for the United Nations and their Allies to stick together. Then, he ends with a quote about teamwork. Yeah. I look over at Jacqueline with a curious look, trying to ask her if she understood without actually speaking. She just smiles at me and nods. And then a different speaker with almost the exact same message comes on. Then another and another and another; all saying the same thing in different ways.

I am so out of it that I almost do not notice Grandpa coming over and whisper something in Poppi's ear. Almost.

Poppi's eyes grow slightly wider as he nods and slowly gets up out of his chair, as if not to disturb anything.

I watch out of the corner of my eye as he, Uncle Timmy, and Grandpa Gibbs walk out of the banquet hall and into a long hallway. Aunt Abby comes over and takes Poppi's seat. She leans over to Ima, who eyes are growing worried, and tells her something I cannot make out. Butterflies swish around in my stomach as worry begins to eat at me. I try to focus on the next two speakers but I keep on looking back at the doors.

'What is taking them so long? They should be back by now!'

_Chava calm down. You do not not know if anything bad has happened._

'I know! But, I cannot help but worry!'

The conference (whatever it is) ends and they still aren't back. Jacqueline comes over and hugs me once more, telling me that it was a pleasure to work with me. I smile weakly and tell her the same. After watching her leave, I look up at Ima. She is close to tears and her hands are shaking. Grabbing her hand, I startle her out of her trance. Again tears are flowing down my face. She kneels down and holds me close.

"Please. _Please_, tell me that Poppi is okay, Ima. Please!" I sob into her shoulder as she rocks us back and forth, back and forth.

"I. I don't know, baby. I don't know if he is okay or not." Her voice cracks as she says this. More tears are coming out of my eyes. I lift my head up to bury it into her neck more when I see him.

"Poppi!" I hop up out of my wheelchair and stumble towards him. "Poppi!" I trip over my brace and land with a thud on the floor. I hear footsteps racing towards me. Strong arms lift me up and hold me tight.

"I'm here, Avi. It's okay. I'm here."

Next thing I know, a small body is attacking us, almost knocking us over.

"Tony!" Ima kisses Poppi full on the lips. I give them a watery smile. Ima pulls away and looks at him with a scolding look. "Don't ever do that again! You scared the crap out of us!" Her eyes soften as she rests her forehead on his and wraps her arms around us both. "I don't know what I would have done without you." Tears are streaming down her face as Poppi wraps his arms around Ima and I.

"It's gonna be okay. I am here now. I will never leave you."

_*Hello. I am Alisabith. I will be your translator for this evening. Behind me are my parents, Tony and Ziva. Shall we sit down? _

_A/N Hey guys! I am so sorry that it has been so long! I was in The Little Mermaid Musical twice and it took up a ton of my time. Then, I went on vacation. Then, I was a Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. So.. It has been a busy summer to say the least! :D haha But, I hope you guys can forgive me! Enjoy! :D R and R PLEASE!_


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